Stuart Symington

William Stuart Symington, Jr. (26 June 1901-14 December 1988) was a member of the US Senate from Missouri (D) from 3 January 1953 to 27 December 1976, succeeding James P. Kem and preceding John Danforth; he had previously served as US Secretary of the Air Force from 18 September 1947 to 24 April 1950, preceding Thomas K. Finletter.

Biography
William Stuart Symington, Jr. was born in Amherst, Massachusetts, and he worked as an executive in his uncle's iron products company and for other companies before becoming president of Emerson Electric. He resigned from Emerson in 1945 to take up various positions in President Harry S. Truman's administration, becoming the first Secretary of the Air Force in 1947. In 1952, he was elected to the US Senate from Missouri, and he became a prominent critic of Joseph McCarthy. Symington sought the Democratic Party nomination in the United States presidential election, 1960, with the backing of the former President Truman, but he lost to John F. Kennedy. After the Kansas City Athletics moved to Oakland, California, Symington threatened to revoke the MLB's anti-trust exemption, which led to the formation of the Kansas City Royals. Symington declined to seek re-election in 1976, and he died in New Canaan, Connecticut in 1988 at the age of 87.